The United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) is to assist Ghana to develop an innovation- led tourism strategy to help transform the country’s tourism sector and make Ghana a competitive tourism destination in Africa.
The strategy would help empower the youth, create opportunities for operators in the tourism sector and drive economic development.
This was the outcome of a meeting between the Secretary- General of the UNWTO, Mr. Zurab Pololikashvili and the Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Dr. Ibrahim Mohammed Awal at the UNWTO headquarters in Madrid, Spain at the weekend.
Dr. Awal briefed the Secretary- General and other officials of the UNWTO about efforts being made by government to revitalize the tourism sector which has been severely impacted by the Covid19 pandemic.
He noted that over 70 % of businesses in the tourism sector in the country have been affected, with its attendant effect on jobs and livelihoods.
The Minister therefore called for close collaboration between the UNWTO and Ghana to ensure a speedy resuscitation of the sector.
Dr. Awal, who was accompanied to the meeting by Ghana’s Ambassador to Spain, Mr. Muhammed Adam expressed his commitment to make the tourism sector in Ghana the number one contributor to Ghana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2024.
In line with this, the Minister pointed out that the promotion of Domestic and Regional Tourism was a major priority of the government of Ghana.
The Secretary- General of the UNWTO, Mr. Pololikashvili said the revitalization of the global tourism sector was crucial to job creation and expressed his organization’s willingness to partner Ghana to improve the country’s tourism sector.
